Edward p



(No Model.)

' FL P. BEACH.

BOX AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

No, 567,957. 1 Patented sew-22, 189.6.

$512 01. Imam,

y gy THE mums PETERS (20.. mike-Luau" WASHINGTON u. c.

UNITED STATES EDWARD P. BEACH, OF NElVARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR BROTHERS, OF SAME PLACE.

PATENT, QFFiCE,

TO UNGER BOX AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 567,957, dated September 22, 1896.

Application filed April 30, 1896. Serial No. 589,633. (No mddel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD P. BEACH, a

citizen of the United States, residingat NeW- ark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boxes and in Methods of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the same.

The present invention relates to that class of narrow boxes in which the lid is secured at one of its ends to one end of the body of the box by a hinge-joint, as seen in the ordinary pocket match-box. These boxes have generally been made from thin metal or other suitable material by striking up the several parts of which they are composed, and uniting them by soldering, brazing, or otherwise. For example, the lid and the body of the box have each been made of two main or princi-- pal separate pieces, each piece constituting one-half of the lid or one-half of the body. The knuckles for thehinge have been formed in separate pieces from those which constitute the main portions of the lid and body, and have been united to the lid and body pieces in their respective positions by soldering or brazing them thereto, this being done sometimes before and sometimes after the two lid-pieces and the two body-pieces have been united to formthe complete lid or complete body. The two pieces composing the lid, as well as the two pieces composing the body, are united together at their edges, and after the knuckle pieces have been properly secured in place the completed lid is applied to the completed body and secured by the usual hinge-pin, which substantially completes the box.

It is the object of the present invention to reduce to the minimum the number of separate pieces used in making the box, and consequently the trouble and expense of handling and securing together a larger number of pieces, particularly the parts which form the knuckles for the hinge, and at the same time provide for such accuracy in the relative position of all the parts that the completed lid will readily assumeits proper place when applied to the body of the box, and the hinge-knuckles of the lid will register with the hinge-knuckles of the body.

To this end the invention consists ina novel method of making such boxes, in the character of the blanks used therefor,and in the finished box as a new article of manufacture, all as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the method of making a box, the blanks used therefor, and the finished box, Figure 1 is a side elevation of one of the blanks. Figs. 2 and 3 are cross-sections on the lines 2 2 and 34 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a cross-sec tion, the same as Fig. 3, except that two duplicate reverse blanks have beenlunited at their edges. Fig. 5 is a cross-section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 0, and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the completed lid and body of the box. Fig. 7 is a side view of the completed box. Fig. 8 is a section of the completed box along the line 8 8 of Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a section through the line 9 9 of Fig. 8. Fig. .10 is a rear edge view of the completed box.

The method of making such boxes consists in forming in any suitable way, but preferably by striking up in properly-constructed dies from a single piece of thin metal, or other suitable material, a blank which shall contain one half of the lid, one half of the body of the box, and one half of the knuckles for the hinge, and then striking up from another single piece another blank which shall be a reverse duplicate of the first one. One of these blanks is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and

'3, in which- A represents the part for the body of the box; B, that of the lid; 0, the hinge-knuckle of the lid; D, the hinge-knuckle of the body, and E a strip or section of waste or scrap lying between the lid and body parts.

F represents that part of the body which extends above the bead G and forms a flange or bezel over which the lid of the completed box is to fit.

Having formed the two blanks as above described, they are joined together along their edges by soldering, brazing, or other wise, so as to form substantially a tight box or compartment, as shown in section in Fig.

4. The waste section or piece E, which lies between the bead G of the lid and the upper edge of the flange or bezel F of the body, and between the hinge-knuckles C and the hingeknuckles D of the lid and body, is then removed by cutting or sawing along the dotted lines, as indicated in Fig. 1, thus dividing the box into two pieces, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the upper piece B being the completed lid and the lower piece A the completed body. The lid is then applied to the body, the lidknuckles fitting between the body-knuckles, and the hinge-pin holes of the lid-knuckles registering with those of the body-knuckles, and the two parts are then secured together by the introduction of the hingepin 11, as seen in Figs. '7, 8, 9, and 10. It will be observed that the hinge-knuckles are integral with the pieces which form the lid and body of the box, respectively, and that the relation of the parts composing the lid to the parts com posing the body is such that the knuckles of the lid will fit between the knuckles of the bod y,and that the holes 19 for the hinge-pin in the knuckles of the lid and body, respectively, if formed in the dies, will accurately register with each other, and also that the lower portion of the lid when in place will tightly fit over the bezel F of the body, the beads G and Gen the lid and body, respectively, coming incontact and limiting the movement of these parts. This results from the peculiar formation of the blanks,in which the hinge-kn uckles of the body are offset or thrown out of the vertical plane of the hinge-knuckles of the lid, as seen in Figs. 3, 4i, 5, 9, and 10; also that the sides of the lid B are 'sufficiently thrown out of the plane of the bezel or flange F, so that the former will fit over the latter.

The holes in the knuckles for the insertion of the hinge-pin I-I may be formed in the dies when the blanks are struck up, or they may be bored out subsequently when the completed lid is brought into its proper position on the body of the box.

To give an additional strength to the hingejoint it is preferred to insert between and on i the inside of the knuckles of the lid a short, hollow hub or piece I, which is preferably secured by solder to the lid-knuckles, so as to move with the lid. This hub provides a broad bearing for the hinge-pin which passes through it and also strengthens the box and affords a proper base for attaching an arm to act against a spring, if this construction is desired, in order to form a spring-moving lid. The hub I can readily be inserted in place after the lid has been completed.

If it is desired to form an opening like J (see Fig. 6) in the sides of the bezel to enable the finger'and thumb to grasp the matches or other articles, this can easily be done at the time the waste section E is removed, as shown in dotted lines of Fig. 1.

It is observed that in making a box by the method hereinbefore described only two pieces of metal are necessary in addition to the hinge-pin, and that in the finished box It is further observed that in order to produce a box of the kind described, in which the hinge-kn uckles are integral with the main lid and body pieces, it is not essential to construct the box in all respects by the method herein described. Instead, the lid may be formed in two separate pieces with the desired hinge-knuckle integral with each, and these pieces soldered together to form the completed lid, and the same plan may be adapted to form the completed body, and then the completed lid and body could be hinged together. This method, however, would require the handling of an additional number of parts, as well as additional care to obtain the desired fit of the parts. 7

I am aware that boxes have been made in which the hinge-knuckles have been formed integral with the cover and body of the box, but such boxes are of a radically different construction from that described and shown herein. An example of the boxes referredto is found in United States Letters Patent No. 172,692, dated January '25, 1876, in which the cover forms one side of the box and the knuckles for the hinge-pin are formed by bending up contiguous laps extending from the body and cover blanks. This construction would be impracticable in boxes like that described and shown herein, in which the lid forms one end of a narrow box and is secured at one of its ends to one end of the body by a hinge-joint whose knuckles are formed in the side walls of the lid and body, respectively. I therefore do not claim this construction broadly, but only when applied to boxes of this special class.

What is claimed as new is V 1. The herein-described method-of making a narrow box whose lid is secured to its body by a hinge-joint, which consists in forming two blanks, each from a single piece of thin metal, or other thin material, and each containing one half of the lid, the body and the hinge-knuckles of the box, and a waste strip or section located between the lid and body parts, uniting the two blanks together along their edges, removing the waste section to form a completed lid in one piece, andacomplete'd body in another piece, and then hi'n 1iong the lid to the body to form a completed 2. A blank, for making a narrow box whose lid is secured to its body by a hinge-joint, composed of a single piece of thin metal or other suitable material, containing one half of the lid, the body and the hinge-knuckles of a box, each having substantially the form as in the completed box, and a Waste strip or formed in and are integral with the sides of section located between the lid and body parts the lid and body respectively, substantially IO of the box in the blank, substantially as and as and for the purpose set forth.

for the purpose set forth.

5 3. A narrow box composed of a lid and EDWARD P. BEACH.

body, the lid forming one end of the box and lVitnesses: secured at one of its ends to one end of the PHILEMON O. DICKINSON,

body by a hinge-joint Whose knuckles are THEO. F. THOMPSON. 

